Drums and Bets
by Lee Davies
Summary: Grissom displays a hidden talent and Ecklie loses a bet with Sara.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first ever CSI fan fic, so please, be nice to me!

Pairing: Grissom/Sara

Spoilers: None that I am aware of!

Summary: Grissom displays a hidden talent and Ecklie loses a bet with Sara.

The song used in this story is property of American Hi-Fi.

The words he was reading began to blur and mix together. Allowing the files held so tightly in his grasp to fall onto his desk, Gil Grissom closed his eyes and allowed himself a sigh. Nothing he did could take his mind off of the one person who both grounded him and yet made him dream the impossible. Sara Sidle.  
A soft knock sounded at the door of his office, and he looked up. It was Catherine. "Aren't you done being a hermit yet?" she asked, a hand on her hip. "I'm not being a hermit, Cath. I need to review these files." he replied calmly, well aware that his excuse sounded weak, even to him. She gave a derisive snort. "Right-and I'm the flipping Queen of England." He regarded her, his blue eyes closed and guarded. "Anything else, your Majesty?" he asked lightly, attempting to lighten the mood. Catherine gave him a reluctant smile and said softly, "No. Just don't stay in here forever, Griss."  
Once she closed the door behind her, Grissom reached down into the lowest drawer of his desk and pulled out a CD that he'd made Greg burn for him. The young lab rat had seemed shocked with his supervisor's request, but complied. Pulling up Windows Media Player on his computer, he ejected the tray and placed the CD inside it. Once it was in, Grissom's office was not filled with it's normal Opera or Classical music. Turning back to his files, Grissom blinked a couple of times and allowed his head to begin bobbing slightly to the raunchy guitars of Thin Lizzy.

Sara Sidle came out of the break room and ran into Catherine. "Hey Cath, how's it going?" she asked. The older woman rolled her eyes. "Grissom's being a hermit again." she replied, sounding disgusted. "Well you can't exactly say it's a surprise." Sara said wryly. Catherine had to chuckle at this remark. "I guess you're right. He's been that as long as I've known him!"  
Just then, both women were surprised to hear rock music coming from down the hallway. "I'd better tell Greggo to turn it down before Grissom has a lab rat hide nailed to his office wall!" Catherine said, laughingly slightly. Greg poked his head out of the lab. "For your information, I don't have my radio on, thank you!" he retorted with a mock huff. Sara frowned slightly. "Greg, if your radio isn't on, then whose is?" The spiky haired tech considered a moment. "Well, there's one possibilty... but naw, it couldn't be." he mumbled. "Couldn't be what, Greg?" Sara proded, beginning to feel exasperation set in. "I'm sure it's not." he protested. "Greg, if you don't tell us in 10 seconds, I'm going to get a plastic spoon from the lounge and castrate you! Out with it!" Catherine hissed, more than annoyed with the stammering young man.  
Greg's eyes widened in alarm. "Okay, okay! I don't know for sure, but I burned a CD for someone recently with that song on it." he said, words tumbling out like an avalanche. "Who, Greg?" Sara asked sweetly. "Don't you want to tell me?" Catherine could barely contain her giggles as she watched Greg's resolve crack under the onslaught of Sara's potent charms. He hung his head. "I burned it for Grissom." he said.  
The two women looked at one another. "Grissom?" they both cried in unison. "What about Grissom?" asked Nick as he came down the hall. "And who's playing the rock music? It isn't Archie or Hodges." "Greg doesn't have his radio on, and he says he burned a CD for Grissom with this song on it." "Oh yeah, like Grissom's gonna play Thin Lizzy in his office at work." the Texan scoffed. "There's only one way to find out." Catherine announced. "We open his door."

The CSI's looked at one another. "Who's going to do it?" Nick asked. Everyone looked over at Greg. "Oh no people, not me! I'm already on his bad list from the April Fool's joke I played on him!" he squeaked. "Greg, that was over 4 months ago! Stop being such a little girlie man and just do it already!" Sara said. "Okay, but that man's got a long memory and if my hide does indeed go up on his office wall, all I ask is that all of you are present at the nailing." Greg muttered. "GREG, GO!" they all yelled. "Seesh, I'm going, I'm going!"

Reaching out a slightly nervous hand, Greg quickly opened the door and yanked it open in one fluid movement. The team was not at all prepared for the sight that greeted them. Grissom had two pencils in each hand and was drumming along with the song. Once he was over his initial shock, Nick observed, "Hey, he's pretty good." The others looked at him like he was from Mars. "He is! One of my fraternity brothers was in the marching band and played drums. Looks like Grissom's had a little time behind a drum set."  
The song ended, and Grissom looked up, pencils frozen in his hands. A distinct reddish hue rapidly spread itself over his face. Just then, Warrick came running up with a paper clutched tightly in his hands. "Hey guys, day shift from the lab and all shifts of the LVPD want to challenge us to a battle of the bands in 3 weeks, can you believe it?" When no one answered him, he directed his gaze to where everyone else's was. "Ah guys, I hate to sound stupid, but why are we all staring at Grissom?"  
Nick turned to Warrick. "I think we have the night shift's drummer." Warrick's head snapped back to Grissom, mouth agape. "Griss...drums?" he asked, feeling slightly faint. "Since 5th grade." the supervisor finally said. It was as thought the floodgates had been opened. Everyone peppered him with questions until he held his hands up. They all fell silent. "I started playing snare drum until I got to high school. The director thought that I was good enough to be moved onto set, and when I was a sophomore, I ended up being selected for the Jazz Band. I continued with that all the way through high school, but once college came around, I didn't have as much time as I once did, and gradually, I stopped. I've been trying to pick up up again."  
Archie approched the group, having no clue what was going on and asked, "Hey, does anyone know somebody who'd want to buy my cousin's drumset?" The team looked at Grissom, and were surprised to see a small smile gracing his face. "Archie, I'm interested. How much does your cousin want for them?" Taken aback, Archie replied on autopilot, "$700. They're blue Pearl Exports." Grissom thought about it for a moment. "I'll take them." Archie beamed. "Great! She really needs the money for college books." he said happily as he handed Grissom his cousin's number. "Glad to help." the supervisor said dryly.  
Looking at his CSI's, he asked with a glint in his eyes, "So who is going to be in the night shift band? I'd like to do something that'll plunge the police and Ecklie into the ground." Nick looked slightly shy. "Well, I can play bass pretty well." he admitted. "Both Greggo and Archie play guitar, I can do keyboard, so with Nick on bass and you as our drummer Gris, we can do pretty much anything we want." Warrick offered. Greg piped up suddenly. "I know just the song. You know how the cops always refer to us as "The Geek Squad" and all that?"  
There were nods. Suddenly, Grissom threw his head back and laughed. "Greg, this scares me immensly, but I think I know where you're going with this." he chuckled. Nick caught on as well. "American Hi-Fi?" he asked with a grin. "Yep." Greg replied proudly. The girls were mystified, and walked away listening to the men plan when they were going to get together and practice their song. "Who would have guessed Grissom was a drummer?" Sara asked out loud. "I don't know...I would have figured him as a clarinet or even trumpet." Catherine mused. "It'll be interesting to see what happens!"

3 weeks passed quickly, and it was finally time for the battle of the bands. Sara met Catherine at the ballroom where it was being held. "Have you even heard the guys play?" Sara whispered nervously. "No. I take it you haven't either." the blonde replied. "Nope." Looking to her left, Sara groaned. "Ecklie at 12:00." Catherine rolled her eyes. "What I wouldn't give for a plastic spoon right now..." she muttered. Sara choked back a laugh as Ecklie sauntered over to them. "Good evening, ladies. Ready to see the night shift get trounced?" he asked, snickering like a bad B move villian. "The only thing that's going to get trounced around her is your toupee after we're done dancing on it, Conrad." Catherine said with a glare. Sara laughed, and Ecklie looked the the brunette with an expression on his face that made Sara feel slightly sick. "Care to wager on that, Sidle?" he asked, leering.  
"Sure. What happens if we lose?" "You have to kiss me." he replied. "And if we win?" "I have to do whatever you say." he replied. "Deal." Sara pronounced, shaking his hand. "Get ready for a piece of this, Sidle." he laughed as he walked away. "You'd better hope they win! If I had to lock lips with Conrad Ecklie, I'd shoot myself!" Catherine said, shaking her head. "Come on, Cath, you know Grissom. You think he's going to let his shift do something crappy?" Sara bluffed, trying to exude a confidence she didn't feel. "You're right, Sara. Come on, let's go get seats.

The day shift's band was bad, but the LVPD's were worse. Sara grew increasingly nervous as the show went on. The night shift was the last to play. Crossing her fingers, she prayed that at least they'd be better than Ecklie. They didn't have to be great, but she would seriously hurt someone if she had to smooch Conrad Ecklie! Catherine nudged her. "Look at them..." she whispered. Sara did as she was bade. The guys all looked great, but it was Grissom sitting at the drum set that made her jaw drop open. He was wearing worn jeans that fit him like a glove and a black t-shirt that said, "It's all about the beat" on it. Grissom started with a small drum solo and they were off. Greg and Nick were doing the singing. Sara recognized the song and started laughing.

_Another Friday night, to get the feeling right  
At the bar when he sees her coming over  
What you gonna do, if she walks up to you  
Tongue tied better get yourself together  
Pound another drink, to give him time to think  
What's your sign hey I think you know a friend of mine  
All the stupid lines, that he had ever heard  
Wouldn't come to mind he couldn't say a word _

_Tonight tonight, he's gonna get it right  
Even losers can get lucky sometimes  
All the freaks go on a winning streak  
In a perfect world, all the geeks get the girls_

Catherine heard the chorus and understood with perfect clarity why the night shift had wanted to do this song.She cracked up at the look on Ecklie's face. They were good. She looked over at Sara, who only had only eyes for Grissom who was totally into what he was doing.

_Got her holding steady, forget her name already  
Sweatin' hard not a smooth operator  
She's got it going on, dancing to her favorite song  
He's got the line is it your place or mine  
She turns and walks away, where did he go wrong?  
But waiting by the car, she says what took you so long_

_Tonight tonight, he's gonna get it right  
Even losers can get lucky sometimes  
All the freaks go on a winning streak  
In a perfect world, all the geeks get the girls_

_The very next day, he guessed she ran away  
The one and only in his bed so lonely  
But she comes walking in, with coffee and a grin  
Crazy as it seems, it wasn't just a dream  
And all around the world, people shout it out  
The geek's got the girl_

_Last night he finally got it right  
Even losers can get lucky sometimes  
All the freaks go on a winning streak  
Shout it all around the world cause the geeks get the girls_

_Last night he finally got it right  
Even losers can get lucky sometimes  
All the freaks go on a winning streak  
Shout it all around the world cause the geeks get the girls  
Shout it all around the world cause the geeks get the girls_

They finished to loud and racous applause. Each member of the group was introduced, and both Catherine was amused to see how badly Grissom blushed when most of the women whistled and hooted at him. Sara immediately sought out Ecklie and dragged him backstage with her by which point, Catherine had explained Sara's bet with the day shift supervisor. "Conrad, here's what I want you do, then your end of the bet will be upheld." Sara told him, a wicked grin on her face. "What would this be?" Ecklie asked, a look of fear on his face. "You have to kiss the ground Grissom walks on-literally-for 10 minutes."  
Ecklie groaned loudly. Grissom gave Sara a bemused look. She walked up to him and whispered, "Be sure you go out in the parking lot or in the men's room." He grinned at her, and gave a mock bow. "Come Ecklie, let's go outside for a minute." Grissom announced. Closing his eyes, Ecklie opened them, shot Sara a look of pure venom until Grissom's hand connected with his head and smacked him a good one. "Play nice, Conrad." He walked away, the day shift supervisor trailing behind, literally kissing the ground Gil Grissom was treading. Sara could hear the laughs when they reached the ballroom.

It was late, and people were leaving the ballroom. Sara was surprised to feel a hand on her arm. "Hey there. I think Ecklie is going to have a brain annurysm." Grissom chuckled. Looking up at him, dressed in his jeans and t-shirt, she couldn't say anything except, "You were REALLY good, Gris." He ducked his head, an inexplicable shyness sweeping over him. "What are you doing Thursday?" he was shocked to hear himself ask. "Gil Grissom, are you asking me out?" Sara asked, a look of shock on her face. "Yeah, I am?" he half asked, half answered. "Well, Thursday I have to work, but I'm not doing anything tonight." she replied coyly. He smiled at her, and took her hand in his. As they left, Nick and Greg both softly sang, "_Tonight tonight, he finally got it right. Even bug guys can get lucky sometimes. All the CSI's go on a winning streak. Shout it all around the world cause Grissom got his Sara._"


	2. Chapter 2

This is my first ever CSI fan fic, so please, be nice to me! Thanks to Angie (Holla atcha homegirl!) and Tabbiez for reading/reviewing.

Pairing: Grissom/Sara

Spoilers: None that I am aware of!

Summary: The night after the battle of the bands.

Gil Grissom strode purposefully into the lab, a small smile on his face. Last night he had finally worked up the courage to ask Sara out to dinner. Instead of going somewhere romantic as had previouslybeen his intention, they'd ended up finding an all night bowling alley. Sara was a horrible bowler, but it wasn't so much about the game as it was the person he was playing with.  
The instant he was in his office, he was surrounded by his fellow bandmates. "So where'd you two go?" Greg asked. They were all shocked to see a slow blush spread itself over their supervisor's face. "I asked her out for Thursday, but she has to work." A grin came next. "She told me that she was available last night!" The men hooted and whistled at him. "If you ingrates are done, I'll continue." he said stuffily. They immediately quieted down. "We went to one of those 24 hour bowling places." Nick gave Grissom a look. "You took Sara bowling?" The Texan sighed. "The bowling alley isn't exactly romance central Griss!"  
"Hang on a minute!" Grissom protested. "Once we played about 12 frames (she lost miserably) and talked for awhile, we noticed that it was almost 6 in the morning, I took her to one of her favorite vegetarian restaurants and we decided to get some take out. We sat on the hood of the Tahoe and watched the sun come up together." Warrick grinned. "Now THAT'S more like it, Grissom! It took you long enough though!"  
Grissom gave Warrick an enigmatic look. "Sara said much the same thing and I merely told her, "There are a lot of pearls in the sea but, you are the only pearl thatis meant for me." Needless to say, she appreciated the sentiment." he finished, looking very smug and pleased with himself. "Where did you learn all of these lines, Griss?" Archie asked in amazement. "I read, Archie. You should try it sometime." Grissom shot back wryly. "Ooh, burned by your own boss Arch!" Nick exclaimed. Grissom had a sly smile and Nick could almost see his eyes twinkling with mischief.  
Sitting down at his computer, Grissom looked up at them. "I have an e-mail to write and I highly suspect you gentleman have work to do." Groaning as one, they shuffled out of his office. Turning back to the machine in front of him, Grissom typed in the e-mail address, a short message, and sent it.

Sara was sitting at her desk reading over a file when her computer "pinged" at her, letting her know that she had a new e-mail message. Looking at the sender, she smiled. It was from Grissom.

**From:** ggrissom  
**To: **ssidle  
**Subject: **A Little Something to Think On

Sara-

After having the wondrous opportunity of your company last night, I was wondering if we could attempt another outing sometime soon. Let me know what will work the best for you.

Gil

P.S. This reminded me of you.

_I wish I could remember the first day,_

_First hour, first moment of your meeting me;_

_If bright or dim the season it might be;_

_Summer or winter for aught I can say._

_So, unrecorded did it slip away,_

_So blind was I to see and to foresee,_

_So dull to mark the budding of my tree_

_That would not blossom, yet, for many a May._

_If only I could recollect it! Such_

_A day of days! I let it come and go_

_As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow._

_It seemed to mean so little, meant so much!_

_If only now I could recall that touch,_

_First touch of hand in hand! - Did one but know!_

A full fledged grin swept over Sara's features. She recognized the Christina Rossetti poem and was touched that Grissom would include something like that in an e-mail to her. A knock sounded at her door, and Catherine swept in. Sara gave her the Cliff Notes version of the night before. Catherine smiled. "You should see Gil. He looks like the cat that ate the canary! He has this little smirk on his face..."  
"It might be from this." Sara explained, blushing a little as she showed Cath the poem and e-mail he'd sent her. "You know, I never thought I would live to see the day that Gil Grissom would be sending you love poems." Catherine snickered. Sara had to laugh at this. "If someone had told me he could play the drums, I would have told them that they need to be committed!" the younger girl commented.  
Turning back to the computer, Sara thought for a moment. "A ha!" she said out loud. "A ha what?" Catherine asked, slightly puzzled. Sara gave her a beaming smile. "I know what poem to send back to him." Catherine came around to the other side of Sara's desk where she had a window up. "This I have to see!" Sara went to Google and typed in the name of an author. "I can remember who wrote it, but not what it's called." she explained to the older woman. Finding a promising site, Sara clicked on it and found her poem within minutes. Catherine read it, and whistled. "He's not going to be able to mistake this, Sar." she cautioned.  
Looking determinedly at Catherine, Sara replied softly, "I know, Cath, but this is not something I'm going to be hiding anymore. It's now or never!" Copying and pasting the poem into her message, she took a deep breath and hit send, knowing that this could well seal her fate.

Grissom looked up at his computer screen as it pinged. There was a reply from Sara.

**From: **ssidle  
**To:** ggrissom  
**Subject:** Something For YOU To Think On

Gil-

I really enjoyed being with you too. I'd really like to have another "date" with you. I should be off Saturday, if that works for you.

I don't want to scare you off, but I found the perfect poem for you.

Just know that I love you.

Sara

He took a deep breath, and it froze in his chest when he read the poem that Sara had chosen for him.

_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways._

_I love thee to the depth and breadth and height_

_My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight_

_For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. _

_I love thee to the level of everyday's_

_Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. _

_I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; _

_I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. _

_I love thee with the passion put to use_

_In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. _

_I love thee with a love I seemed to lose_

_With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath, _

_Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose, _

_I shall but love thee better after death._

When he finally exhaled, he was surprised to find water in his eyes. He never thought that she would be quoting Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous "How Do I Love Thee?" to him. Closing his eyes, he silently thanked her for giving him a badly needed nudge. It was now time for her to know how he felt about her. He tried to run through all the poems he knew, but then a thought came to him and he decided to go with it.

Sara was waiting on pins and needles in her office. Catherine finally got tired of her pacing and threatened to tie her to her chair. Sitting down, she put her face in her hands and groaned. "I'm an idiot." she said, her voice muffled. "Sar, you're not an idiot. A relationship ignoramus perhaps, but not an idiot. Look on the bright side- he hasn't come tearing down the hallway like a madman and his Tahoe is still in the parking lot." Catherine consoled.  
In the silence that followed, a loud "ping" was heard and Sara immediately dived for the computer. "Don't kill the poor machine! It didn't do anything to you!" the blonde joked weakly. Sara shot her one of her patented "Sara Death Rays" and Catherine decided that she should probably be quiet now. Closing her eyes tightly, Sara told herself to stop being such a chicken and just open the stupid e-mail.

**From: **ggrissom  
**To:** ssidle  
**Subject:** You and Me

Sara-

I never thought that you would have waited so long for this proud, scared old man to finally admit that he cannot live without you. I haven't been honest with you, and I want to try and explain myself. I always thought that I didn't deserve someone like you. I'm older than you, I'm more cynical, and I have trouble telling people how I feel about them (in case this observation slipped past you). I figured that I was doing you a favor by turning you away. I didn't realize that I was breaking your heart as well as mine in the process. I feel as though this can be a new beginning for us, one that has been a long time in coming. I love you too, Sara.

_For Sara_

_There were many times_

_When someone else would have_

_Given up and written me off_

_As an utterly lost cause._

_There were many times_

_I was ready to write myself off_

_Because I could not let go_

_Yet didn't know how to ask her to stay._

_And yet, the one person_

_Whom I wronged above all others_

_Was always the first one_

_To pick me off the ground._

_There was only one person_

_Whose smile could warm me,_

_And whose cold shoulder_

_Held the power to make me weep at night._

_Whose presence could make me_

_Believe in the world again,_

_And whose absence_

_Could tear everything I knew apart._

_For her_

_I rise and meet each day head on_

_And for her_

_I try to see the good in others._

_I dedicate my life_

_And everything I do herewith,_

_To the only one_

_I've ever loved._

_I make this vow_

_For Sara._

_-Gil Grissom, 2005_

Sara could not stop the tears of happiness from falling. Alarmed to see her crying, Catherine asked urgently, "Do I need to go get the plastic spoon and take care of him for you?" She shook her head no. "So you're crying because you're happy?" Sara nodded, and suddenly, her eyes were fixed on the doorway. Catherine turned to find Grissom standing there, concern written on his face. "I'll just leave you two along." she said, knowing full well that neither of them were listening to her.

Grissom barely registered Catherine telling them she was leaving. All of his attention was focused on Sara. She was crying, yet she didn't seem sad or angry. "Sara?" he asked hesitantly. She was out of the chair and had her arms around his neck in seconds. "Gil, that was...so beautiful." she sniffed, her head resting on his shoulder. "So I take it you liked what I had to say." he teased gently. Sara swung her head around to look at him, and gave him a mock glare. "You certainly waited long enough to tell me!"  
He sighed, and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "As I told you, I thought I was a favor by pushing you away. However, I could never completely let you go. You meant too much to me." Sara looked into his eyes, her brown ones piercing deep inside him. "There were a lot of times I could have left, Gil but I didn't. As much as I hated you sometimes for pulling me back, in the end I knew I couldn't leave you. We both had issues there!"  
Chuckling, Grissom reached out a hand and tilted her chin up slightly. "We're still going to have issues, but I'm more than willing to try and work through them." "What about Ecklie?" Sara whispered. Grinning roguishly, Grissom withdrew a small tape from his pocket. "I believe Brass more than amply took care of any concerns that Conrad may have about us." "Is that from..." Sara began. "Yes, it's from last night. I highly suspect that our dear Ecklie would NOT want this tape leaking out to anybody." he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her in an extremely suggestive manner.

"Just kiss her already!" Greg's voice shouted from behind them. They turned their heads to find the team assembled in the hallway, watching intently. "Don't you people have work to do?" Grissom asked, a plaintive note in his tone. "Gilbert Justin Grissom, we've been trying to get you guys together for years now! You're not going to get rid of us that easily! Kiss her, and we'll leave." Looking down at Sara, he gave a fake sigh. "Ah, the things I do for my team." he said as he bent down and claimed Sara's lips with his.


End file.
